Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1887-03-19
WASHINGTON LETTER.
WASHINGTON, March 14th, 1887.


WASHINGTON, March 14th, 1887.
The question of an extra session
of the Fiftieth Congress to begin in
October and run into the regular ses-
sion, is now a topic of speculation
here. Officers of the Executive De-
partments hope such calamity will
be averted, as the President is Tep0r-
ted as saying that he would not call
Congress together unless it became
necessary, in order to avoid finan.
cial depression. Officers of the De-
partments have much happier life
when Congress is away, for with it
always comes a horde of office hun
ters which fingers as long as the SEES
sion lasts.
But the business of this great coun-
try has grown too vast to be carried
on by the methods which served well
enough half century ago. Not one
tenth of the work that Congress
ought to do, never gets done at all,
and one of the chief reasons for this
is the waste of time from March to
January, for although Congress meets
on the first Monday il December, it
never gets down to business before
the holidays.
The cure for this is in the Presl-
dents hands. The Fiftieth Congress
began it's official existence on the
4th OF this month and its members
are now on pay. He has only to ex-
ercise his prerogative of converting
Congress and pointing out the work
which most needs its attention. Ii
he neglects to do this, he will be
largely responsible for the failure of
necessary legislation.
The most important legislation ex-
pected of the Congress just ended
failed because OF the stupid organi-
cation of the House. Speaker Car
Isle demonstrated an utter lack of
Judgment and political leadership
IN assigning Mr.. Randall to a contro-
ling position which that gentleman
used to defeat his party's pledges.
1t is stated that since the adjourn
rnent of Congress, several prominent
democratic members have told Mr..
Carlisle that unless he promised to
keep Mr.. Randall off the Appropria-
tions Committee at the next session,
they would not support him Carlisle)
for reelection to the Speakership.
The hundreds of Government
clerks who are suffering from the
unsanitary condition of the Treas.
ury building, place all of the respon-
sibility for the failure of the bill to
improve it on Mr.. RandalI's shout
ders. His disposition is to oppose
all appropriations that are not in
his opinion necessary. When
spoken to in regard to the unhealth-
ful air of the Treasury, he foolishly
remarked that he had visited that
Department on several occasions,
and could not smell any sewer gas.
The Democratic party promises to
be weakened in the next Congress
even beyond its present condition.
The Fiftieth Congress will come IN
with two-thirds of the Democrats
new men, and those who have stud
led its composition carefully since
theelection agree that the personnel is
weak A Democratic member who
was talking on the subject recently
acknowledged that everything in the
last House went to the bad, as far as
the party was concerned, for want
of a leader, and he added that the
next House would be a mere play
thing in the hands of the Republi.
cans on account of the new recruits
on the other side whe are utterly
without experience or reputation.
1t requires an apprenticeship of two
years for a man to learn the parlia-
mentary rules and working methods
of Congress-, and in the matter of
leadership the Republicans stood IN
bold contrast to the Democrats in
the House which has just closed it's
existence.
AS Senator Edmunds is seldom
drawn into free expressions of his
views on certain subjects, they are
all the more priced when he does oc.
casionally indulge in talk. In his
opinion, Mr.. Cleveland's Administra.
ton is not successful, whatever the
desires and intentions of those at the
head of affairs may have been. 1t
was impossible for them to follow
out a successful policy with the
weight of party so composed, while
all the Presidents have made some
bad appointments, he thinks Mr.
Cleveland has been more often be.
trayed than any. A large percen.
tage of his appointees have been
either incompetent OF improper per.
sons. or, being competent, have been
rascals. Some of those men he has
selected without knowing anything
about them others he has appointed
upon endorsement of members of
Congress of his own party who have
moi hesitated to betray his confidence.
President Cleveland has been
pulled both ways continued the Sena-
tor from Vermont, between his civil
service reform pledges and the party
pressure. Sometimes he appeared
to hold to the one and sometimes to
yield to the other. The Senator
firmly believes that the Democrats
will renominate him however, for
fear they cannot find another man
who would do as well.